ipiworldcongress.com: Home

Join Us June 2012 in Trinidad and Tobago!

I am very pleased to announce that the International Press Institute (IPI), together with our local organising committee (chaired by the Association of Caribbean Media Workers and co-chaired by the Trinidad & Tobago Publishers & Broadcasters Association), will hold its 2012 IPI World Congress in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

This is the first time that IPI’s annual World Congress is being held in the Caribbean, and the second time since 2000, when IPI convened in Boston, that it is being held in the Americas.

Titled "Media in a Challenging World: A 360 Degree Perspective," the three-day IPI World Congress will examine the many challenges, concerns and opportunities facing the media not only in the Caribbean, but also in the rest of the Americas and around the globe.

Interacting with participants from throughout the Americas and other regions of the world, a roster of world-class moderators, speakers and panellists will look at the role of state-owned media in the region and elsewhere, the impact of natural disasters on press freedom, the abuse of government advertising as a way to reward or punish media outlets, and the presence of colonial-era criminal defamation laws on the statute books in many Caribbean countries.

Confirmed moderators, speakers and panelists include:

- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
- Geoffrey Robertson, human rights lawyer, academic, author and broadcaster
- Jim Clancy, CNN International anchor and correspondent
- Savea Sano Malifa, editor and publisher of the Samoa Observer
- Sheila Coronel, Toni Stabile Professor of Professional Practice in Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and founding director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalists
- Juanita Léon, founder and director of LaSillaVacia.com in Colombia
- Jacqueline Charles, award winning Miami Herald reporter
-George Brock, Professor and Head of Journalism at City University; former managing editor of The Times, UK
- Marjorie Miller, Latin America and Caribbean Editor, Associated Press (AP)
- Pansy Tlakula, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
- Salim Amin, Chairman of A24 Media in Kenya
- Dunja Mijatovic, Representative on Freedom of the Media, OSCE, Austria
- John Yearwood, World Editor at the Miami Herald
- Günther Mayr, science journalist, Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)
- Andy Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Government Information Services Ltd, and former host of “Morning Edition,” TV6, Trinidad.

I look forward to seeing you in beautiful Trinidad and Tobago.

Alison Bethel McKenzie
Executive Director
International Press Institute (IPI)

Seminar On Covering Corruption

Seminar to Address What Every Reporter Covering Corruption Needs to Know

A one-day seminar for established journalists and aspiring investigative reporters, organised in cooperation with the U.S.-based Investigative News Network (INN), will focus on examples of successful journalism projects on corruption, including how these projects were accomplished, the methodologies used, and a special emphasis on how to collaborate internationally on investigations into political and corporate corruption and organised crime.

The workshop, to be held at the Hyatt Grand Regency, on Saturday, 23 June 2012, will be led by award-winning investigative reporters Brant Houston and David Kaplan; Sheila Coronel, founder of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism; and Money Magazine's Lisa Gibbs.

Register Now ! The workshop fee of US$ 150 (US$ 125 for IPI Members) includes luncheon with members of the IPI board of directors and a certificate of completion with the IPI and INN seals.

Some fascinating facts about Trinidad and Tobago

- The Caribbean comprises no less than 7,000 islands of which only 2% are inhabited!

- Trinidad and Tobago and the 20 small islands immediately off their coasts are the most southerly of all the Caribbean islands. The south-western tip of Trinidad is only 11km off the north-east coast of Venezuela (you can actually see Venezuela from Port of Spain).

- The steel pan is the only musical instrument developed in the 20th century and is capable of playing a wide range or melodies from the native calypso to classical music.

- Since it is located south of the hurricane belt, Trinidad has never been hit by a hurricane and, consequently, has one of the Caribbean’s principal yacht storage and repair facilities.

- Trinidad and Tobago is home to 623 species of butterflies, more than any other Caribbean island.

- Trinidad and Tobago is home to 469 species of birds. There are few places on earth where such a variety of bird life can be observed in such a small area.

- Trinidad and Tobago is one of the world’s major nesting sites for the leatherback turtles. They can be observed annually from March to August.

- Trinidad and Tobago is the birth place of calypso music, soca (a contraction of soul calypso) and the steel band (sometimes called “steel pan” or just “pan”).

- Trinidad and Tobago is the most industrialised Caribbean nation, with large oil and gas reserves, a food industry, light manufacturing, and a leisure boat and yacht industry.

Learn more about the Caribbean region and sign up for one of the post-congress tours!